


Rascals No More

by IcannotbelieveIamhere



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Episode: s06e07 Rascals, Gen, Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 06:32:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13735158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcannotbelieveIamhere/pseuds/IcannotbelieveIamhere
Summary: Captain Picard, Keiko O'Brien, Ensign Ro and Guinan reflect on the time they were transformed back to childhood and how they feel about returning to their adult life.





	Rascals No More

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at posting on Archive of our Own. 
> 
> I wrote this poem not long after I saw "Rascals" the Season 6 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Picard and company are transformed into children just before The Enterprise is taken over by the Ferengi. They come up with a clever plan to re take control of the ship and remember the good and bad things about being a child.
> 
> This was written during a time when very few people had access to the internet and online fan fiction was a dream which eventually came true. This was first published in Spock which was the fan fiction publication of Austrek:The Star Trek Fan Club of Australia.
> 
> Verse 1 is from Picard's perspective, Verse 2 is from Keiko O'Brien's perspective, Verse 3 is from Ensign Ro's perspective and Verse 4 allows Guinan, in all her wisdom, to get the last word.
> 
> I call this thought poetry but some might call it free form poetry.

It was good to have hair again.  
But hugging Riker!!  
"My 'Number One' Dad," I said.  
The look on his face.....  
I would've laughed had the Ferengi not been there.....  
Are the Ferengi a suspicious race?  
But then, who would suspect a child?  
It would have been exhilarating to explore the ruins of Suvin IV,  
But the stars would have beckoned me each night....  
The Enterprise is my life,  
Her crew are my children.  
Children.......  
A classroom full of them!  
Strange how nightmares have a way of coming true.  
Yet, at first, they were as unsure of me as I was of them.  
And the children never gave up hope,  
A quality I cherish.  
I feel complete again.

My baby Molly,  
How wonderful it feels to hold you in my arms!!!!  
You grasp my fingers,  
As if I've been away for a long time,  
In your eyes I know I have.  
I'm sorry my love.......  
Miles, my husband, "Careful, that's hot!" you exclaimed.  
As a child, how could I be a wife to you?  
Now your Irish eyes are smiling once more.  
Molly, one day you'll go to school.  
Maybe even to the classroom where we were kept...  
Children are so eager to learn,  
But they want to be involved in everything.....  
Oh Molly, how can I protect you,  
When life is so fragile?  
Unknown......  
If our home can be taken over so easily,  
Where can we be safe?

I never had time for crayons at school,  
Or jumping on a bed like a Tarkassian Razorbeast.  
The Cardassians stole my childhood.  
And I vowed never to return there.....  
Never to recall it.....  
Never to let it affect me....  
And now,  
Here I am.  
A second chance....  
To relive a time of innocence?  
No!  
I could never be innocent again.  
A fighting spirit burns within me.  
But I want to use my crayons.  
I want to create.  
I want to take back what I lost!  
Just when I start enjoying something, I must abandon it.  
But do I have to?  
Do I have to go back?

The child exists in us all,  
Even those who are hundreds of years old.  
It is only through a child's eyes that one can uncover the secrets of the universe.  
Picard, I sense your restlessness.  
Yet, you acted as a captain should.  
I watched you grow through this.....  
But you look better without hair!  
My Enterprise goes beyond Ten Forward....  
I see her through the eyes of those who come to me....  
Now I have walked and crawled through her and seen her wonders first hand.  
It will be another story to tell,  
But only after I have listened.  
Ro, my friend,  
Outwardly stubborn,  
Yet I know what lies beneath the surface.  
Second chances rarely arise.  
We learn what we can, but we can never forget who we are.  
We must return.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think. This is the first time I've shared poetry or any type of fan fiction online.
> 
> I hope to post a Season 6 episode continuation short story soon which was inspired by "Schisms".


End file.
